


Because I Could Not Stop For Death

by AshWinterGray



Category: Batman - All Media Types, The Sandman (Comics)
Genre: Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26185828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: She decided to judge my life choices and screw my head on straight.
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	Because I Could Not Stop For Death

**Author's Note:**

> Meh. This was another random idea I had

Once in every century, Death lives a day in mortal form, sometimes human, sometimes not, to better understand the creatures over which she has dominion. While this is the case, Death is omnipotent. She appears anywhere and at any time in whatever form she wishes to take. They say you meet death twice. Once when you are born, though its rare to remember this encounter. The second is when you die. For everything ends, as written by her brother, Destiny. Even those who try to evade Death meet her at some point. Death is not the thing the takes you, but rather the gate that guides you. This is why, on rare occasions, people tend to come back to life.

There are some who see this as a gift, and they try to be better. Try to make a better life with the years Death has given them. Others see it as a challenge, and end up ruining themselves further. Others don’t change and simply continue on with their lives.

And then there was Jason Todd.

“Are you serious?”

Death shot a look to her brother, one that provided the only answer he needed.

“I gave him my gift and he remains in limbo, trapped in his own mind,” Death supplied. “I am tired of this game, Destiny. Aren’t you?”

Destiny said nothing, which was answer enough for Death.

And so Death took human form and went to meet with Jason Todd. She found him in a bar in Star City, having just visited Lian Harper. Death still regretted taking Roy Harper, but with time…

That was another matter.

“Keep them coming,” Jason barked to the bartender.

“You’re drunk, mate,” the bartender protested. “You got someone to get you home.”

“Of course he does,” Death spoke up, placing some money on the counter. “And given the discussion we’ll be having tonight, my friend will need the drink.”

She could see the moment he recognized her. His memory was hazy, but he knew who she was. He seemed resigned as her face clicked in his mind. After all, she had chosen her preferred form.

“Bad break up?” the bartender slid a mug of pure alcohol to the boy.

“More like daddy issues,” Death hummed, making Jason choke on the burning liquid. “Keep the change. And thank you.”

Death drove Jason back to the dingy hotel he had rented for the night and propped him on the couch with a glass of water. The alcohol would ware off soon, and then they would talk. For now, Death watched as the sky of Star City glistened. It was polluted by fog, of course, but nowhere near as terrible as Gotham was.

“Is Bruce dead?”

“No.”

“Am I about to die?”

“No.”

“Someone I know?”

“No.”

Jason promptly gave up, sipping his water. He watched her, waiting for whatever she was going to say.

“You haven’t gone home.”

_What?_

“To Gotham. To the Manor. Not really. I know there was a time when you returned, but it wasn’t official.”

Jason blinked. “The Manor isn’t my home.”

“It was. Once. And it still can be.”

Jason laughed. “You’re crazy.”

Death turned away from the window and gave Jason a smile. “I suppose I must be to allow people past my gates and back to the world of the living. Especially when it makes my job so much harder.”

“Yeah. I was your biggest mistake,” Jason snorted.

“You were never a mistake, Jason. If anything, you never should have died.”

Jason clearly didn’t believe her.

“I am not all knowing, Jason. Nor am I in control of who dies. Destiny attempts to aid me, but as you can imagine, my siblings love to interfere. Such as my nephew, Orpheus. He asked for permission to save his love, Eurydice, and I did not let him past my gates and into Death. His quest may have failed, but he did not die. Not until my brother interfered and killed his own son.”

“And what does this have to do with me?”

Death let her eyes lock with Jason. “I have no control of the Joker. Nor does Destiny. He is a being blessed by my brother, Delirium, and as such, likes to interfere in fate. When my brother led Bruce Wayne on the path to become the Batman, it was with the hope that he would one day stop the Joker. When he led each of you to Bruce, it was with the hope that they would save Batman from a fate. That plan, however, failed when you died in Ethiopia.”

“What fate are we talking about?”

Death shut her eyes and asked a question Jason was unprepared for.

“Who is your father, Jason?”

Jason blinked. “Um, Willis Todd.”

“Wrong answer. Who is your father?”

Again, Jason blinked. “Batman.”

“Wrong again. Who is your father?”

“Bruce Wayne.”

“There,” Death grinned, opening her eyes. “Bruce Wayne. He is your father. You are the son of Bruce Wayne. Not Willis Todd, even though the man sired you. And not Batman.”

“Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same.”

“Are they?”

_What?_

“Who sat with you when you were sick? Bruce Wayne or Batman?”

“…Bruce.”

“Who helped you with your school work and projects? Bruce Wayne or Batman?”

“Bruce.”

“Who helped you sneak some of Alfred’s cookies? Bruce Wayne or Batman?”

“Bruce. Look, why are you-?”

“Who told you that you weren’t his son? Bruce Wayne or Batman?”

Jason grit his teeth, thinking back to the day that led to his fate.

“…Batman…Batman told me I wasn’t his son.”

Death was cupping his face now, brushing away the tears. “And it was Bruce who pulled your broken body from that shed. That day, Jason, when I took you through my gate, you weren’t the only one I took. Like people, ideas, thoughts, things can die. Not in the same sense, but in that moment, I took Bruce Wayne through my gates too. And it left Batman to rage. Tim Drake appeared to Bruce five months after your death because I was slowly pushing you back out of my gates, shoving Bruce with you. We knew that seeing you catatonic wasn’t going to be enough, so we attempted to bring in Tim Drake to pull the rest of your forward. And then, in a bout of Pit Madness, Talia al Ghul took you away. Whether Delirium interfered or not, I haven’t discovered that answer, but it was our goal for Tim to find you and bring you home. Bruce once sure you were his son, would have begged the Justice League for help. That was our plan, my dear Jason. We never wanted this fate for you. Nor did we want it for Bruce. But Bruce has remained buried for far too long, trapped in an alley with two dead parents and a memory of his son.”

“That’s all well and good,” Jason pulled away, scrubbing at his eyes. “But why tell me this now?”

Death smiled. It was sad. Maybe even pained, but it was a smile.

“Bruce Wayne’s fate was always to lose himself to Batman, so we gave him sons. Daughters. Children to care for. Because when Bruce Wayne is the one in control, he loves unconditionally. But Bruce Wayne nearly died that day in the warehouse.”

Jason feared what she was about to say next more than anything life could throw at him.

“When was the last time you talked to Bruce Wayne instead of Batman?”

\---------------------------------

“What are you doing here, Todd?”

Jason wasn’t disturbed by Damian’s threat, and he carefully pushed the sword away with two fingers.

“To fix what was broken.”

Dick lifted a brow at that, studying Jason. Tim seemed curious, and Duke was clearly confused. Stephanie was looking from Jason to the others. Barbara was eyeing him. But Cass just smiled.

“Good,” she stated, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “Proud of you, little brother.”

Coming from Cass, that meant the world.

“Master Bruce will speak to you in the study, Master Jason.”

Jason turned to the old butler, giving a smile. “Actually, Alfred. I was hoping we could have this conversation in my old room.”

The room went tense, even Alfred seemed surprised.

“Very well. I will inform Master Bruce immediately.”

“Thanks, Alfie.”

Jason looked around his old room. Untouched after all these years. There was an old history textbook. A copy of Emily Dickenson’s poems lay on the bedside table. There were posters, old clothes, and so many other things Jason hadn’t seen in years.

“Jason?”

Jason turned around to see Batman standing in the doorway. Everything about him screamed _Batman_ without a hint of the Bruce Wayne that had fathered him. When was the last time he had talked to Bruce Wayne?

“Hey, B,” he gave a smile to the older man. “You remember this?”

Jason lifted up the Emily Dickenson book, brushing off the dust. It wasn’t too big a layer, meaning Alfred still cleaned in here on occasions.

“I used to love these,” Jason hummed. “Do you remember? We used to read them together. Just the two of us. Probably one of my best memories.”

“Jay. Lad. What’s going on?”

“ _Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me_ …” Jason read a page he had marked and scribbled on. “Little me seemed to think Death would never be so kind. Turns out she got one thing wrong. Death is a she.”

“Jay, if this is you trying to joke about your death-”

And there he was. Though cruel, Jason had managed to drag Bruce Wayne past Batman. His dad looked pained, eyeing the book, not quite able to look at Jason dead on.

“Was thinking about redecorating,” Jason flopped onto the bed, blowing a dust cloud around him. “It’ll need to all be cleaned first, of course. And I’m not getting rid of the books, but I don’t think the clothes will fit, and I think I’ve moved on from most of the bands. My old school stuff is probably a bit outdated too.”

“What are you saying, Lad?”

Lad. That nickname. It was one of two Bruce used to call him. Not Batman. Bruce. His dad. He was an idiot, honestly. A stupid, foolish idiot.

“What? I can’t come home?”

“No! I mean, yes! Wait, I-!”

Jason laughed, pushing himself off the bed and wrapping his arms around Bruce. “Then let me come home, dad. Just…not to this little museum you’ve got here. It’s disturbing.”

“Jay…”

“I’ve had some time to think, dad,” and Jason felt Bruce’s breathing hitch. “I want to come home, if you’ll have me?”

“Always,” Bruce said, no hesitation. “I have always wanted you to come home, Lad. More than I will ever be able to truly say. You’re my son, and I am so, so sorry that I-”

Jason squeezed Bruce a bit tighter as the man let out a sound that could have been a sob. This was the man who raised him. This was the man who adopted him from Crime Alley. Who saw a person when others saw a rat. Batman saw a soldier. Bruce saw a child. A son.

“We’ll need to talk,” Jason whispered. “About everything. Eventually. But can we just…stay here. Please.”

“Of course,” Bruce said, almost like a promise. “As long as you need.”

_Or as long as you need, old man._

Later, Jason and Bruce would spend the entire night talking about the past and their mistakes. The truth behind Jason’s death would be told to the family, and Bruce would surprise everyone with his apology. Jason would later rope his siblings into remodeling his old room. He would later spend time with Bruce as Father and Son, and would eventually re-enter the streets of Crime Alley as its savior.

But that was for later. For now, Jason was going to exploit the gift Death gave him by letting himself find peace in the arms of his dad.

\----------------------------

“He’ll try to drive them apart, again,” Destiny warned his sister. “This isn’t the end.”

“No, it most certainly isn’t,” Death agreed. “But it is the start of a new path. “But you have always underestimated humans. I think they’ll surprise you.”

“You would know,” Destiny rolled his eyes.

“Of course,” Death stated. “Perhaps you should spend time among the lives you dictate. Perhaps you would gain a better understanding.”

It was advice Destiny had no intention of following. After all, his job would be at risk should he chose to become attached. It was his own destiny to assure that humans suffered. For in their suffering, they could grow. Then again, he supposed he had to be a little attached to allow his siblings such free reign to interfere in his chosen script.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where this was going, but this is what you got.


End file.
